Senate bill will punish Russia with new sanctions

The Senate will vote this week on a bill that would slap Russia with expanded sanctions in response to several Kremlin-orchestrated actions, including interference in the 2016 elections, and Sen.

The Senate will vote this week on a bill that would slap Russia with expanded sanctions in response to several Kremlin-orchestrated actions, including interference in the 2016 elections, and Sen.

Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he will hold President Trump accountable for not vetoing it. Speaking about the measure Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," Graham said that the U.S. governmentand Trumpmust punish Russia for hacking into Democratic Party emails and for enabling more violence in Syria and Afghanistan, and that Trump had better sign the bill or else the Senate will override him on it.

"If the president doesn't sign this bill to punish Russia, he would be betraying democracy," Graham said.

The South Carolina Republican cited the 2016 election-hacking allegations as a primary grievance that he and other Senators have against Russia. Russia's alleged enabling of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's genocidal gas attacks are another. Graham additionally condemned Russia's arming of Afghan Taliban militants, whom he said used the arms to kill U.S. soldiers.

The bill is an attachment to an already-drafted bill that imposes sanctions on Iran for ballistic-missile testing, human-rights violations, and support of terrorists. It coincides with debates that will continue on the Senate floor Monday over Russia's election meddling, followed by testimony from Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee on his dealings with Russia and his knowledge of Trump's reasons for firing FBI Director James Comey.

The Russia sanctions proposal has the bipartisan endorsement of Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.). Corker is the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Cardin is the committee's top Democrat.

"We will have a Russia amendment, period," Corker told reporters last week